An adversative clause presents a second proposition that contrasts with, limits, or defeats an expectation raised by the first: मौसम ठंडा था, लेकिन बच्चे बाहर खेलते रहे “The weather was cold, but the children kept playing outside.” Neutral लेकिन is the safest general connector; मगर and पर are common in conversation, while किंतु and परंतु belong mainly to formal written style.
The conjunction marks the contrast, but each clause retains its own subject, case pattern, and tense-aspect structure. English but is not a license to string fragments together.
The neutral pattern with लेकिन
दुकान खुली थी, लेकिन अंदर कोई ग्राहक नहीं था।
dukān khulī thī, lekin andar koī grāhak nahīṃ thā.
The shop was open, but there were no customers inside.
मैंने उसे दो बार फ़ोन किया, लेकिन उसने जवाब नहीं दिया।
maĩne use do bār fon kiyā, lekin usne javāb nahīṃ diyā.
I phoned him/her twice, but he/she did not answer.
Both sides are complete finite clauses. A comma before लेकिन is helpful because it makes the boundary visible, particularly when the subjects differ.
For the register differences among the connectors, see लेकिन, मगर, and परंतु.
Simple and expanded versions
रास्ता लंबा था, पर आसान था।
rāstā lambā thā, par āsān thā.
The route was long but easy.
पहाड़ी रास्ता हमारी उम्मीद से कहीं लंबा था, लेकिन साफ़ संकेतों और अच्छे मौसम के कारण यात्रा अपेक्षाकृत आसान रही।
pahāṛī rāstā hamārī ummīd se kahīṃ lambā thā, lekin sāf saṅketoṃ aur acche mausam ke kāraṇ yātrā apekṣākrit āsān rahī.
The mountain route was much longer than we expected, but because of clear signs and good weather, the journey remained relatively easy.
The simple version coordinates two predicates sharing रास्ता. The expanded version has two full clauses with different subjects—रास्ता and यात्रा—and gives the second contrast its own causal phrase.
What kind of contrast?
Adversative coordination covers several related relations.
Contrary to expectation
तेज़ बारिश हो रही थी, मगर मैच समय पर शुरू हुआ।
tez bāriś ho rahī thī, magar maic samay par śurū huā.
It was raining heavily, but the match started on time.
Rain normally creates an expectation of delay; the second clause cancels that inference.
Correction or replacement
बैठक मंगलवार को नहीं, बल्कि बुधवार को होगी।
baiṭhak maṅgalvār ko nahīṃ, balki budhvār ko hogī.
The meeting will be not on Tuesday but on Wednesday.
The paired pattern नहीं … बल्कि … corrects one constituent rather than contrasting two whole events. It is more precise than ordinary लेकिन for “not X but Y.”
Limitation
कमरा साफ़ है, लेकिन थोड़ा छोटा है।
kamrā sāf hai, lekin thoṛā choṭā hai.
The room is clean, but it is a little small.
The second property limits the positive evaluation without contradicting the first.
Subject reference must remain clear
सिया ने नेहा को रोका, लेकिन नेहा फिर भी बाहर चली गई।
siyā ne nehā ko rokā, lekin nehā phir bhī bāhar calī gaī.
Siya stopped Neha, but Neha went outside anyway.
Repeating नेहा prevents वह from referring ambiguously to either woman. Hindi permits pronoun omission and pronouns when reference is clear; contrast does not by itself identify the intended subject.
रवि ने कबीर से माफ़ी माँगी, लेकिन उसने बात आगे नहीं बढ़ाई।
ravi ne kabīr se māfī mā̃gī, lekin usne bāt āge nahīṃ baṛhāī.
Ravi apologized to Kabir, but he did not pursue the matter further. (उसने is contextually ambiguous)
This sentence is grammatical, but उसने could mean Ravi or Kabir. Replace it with the name whenever the identity matters.
Tense and aspect can differ
हमने कमरा बुक कर लिया था, लेकिन होटल कल उसे रद्द कर देगा।
hamne kamrā buk kar liyā thā, lekin hoṭal kal use radd kar degā.
We had booked the room, but the hotel will cancel it tomorrow.
The first clause is past perfect; the second is future. The contrastive connector imposes no sequence-of-tense agreement.
मैं पहले वहाँ रोज़ जाता था, मगर अब घर से काम करता हूँ।
maĩ pahle vahā̃ roz jātā thā, magar ab ghar se kām kartā hū̃.
I used to go there every day, but now I work from home. (male speaker)
Time adverbs पहले and अब explicitly establish the change. Hindi chooses each predicate’s tense from its own reference time rather than backshifting both because they occur in one sentence.
Adversative coordination versus concession
लेकिन coordinates two finite propositions. Hindi can instead package the first proposition as a concessive frame:
थकी होने के बावजूद आयशा ने प्रस्तुति पूरी की।
thakī hone ke bāvajūd āyśā ne prastuti pūrī kī.
Despite being tired, Ayesha completed the presentation.
The non-finite phrase थकी होने के बावजूद depends on Ayesha for its understood subject and on the main clause for time. A finite concessive construction marks both boundaries:
हालाँकि आयशा थकी हुई थीं, फिर भी उन्होंने प्रस्तुति पूरी की।
hālā̃ki āyśā thakī huī thīṃ, phir bhī unhoṃne prastuti pūrī kī.
Although Ayesha was tired, she nevertheless completed the presentation. (honorific)
Unlike English, Hindi naturally uses the paired markers हालाँकि … फिर भी …. The first subordinates the concession; the second resumes the main assertion.
A spoken dialogue
फ़िल्म कैसी थी? — कहानी अच्छी थी, मगर अंत समझ में नहीं आया।
film kaisī thī? — kahānī acchī thī, magar ant samajh meṃ nahīṃ āyā.
How was the film? — The story was good, but I didn’t understand the ending.
Conversational मगर sounds natural here. The experiencer “to me” is recoverable in समझ में नहीं आया; supplying मुझे would also be possible.
Formal written style and punctuation
योजना के प्रारंभिक परिणाम उत्साहजनक हैं; परंतु दीर्घकालीन प्रभाव का आकलन अभी शेष है।
yojnā ke prārambhik pariṇām utsāhjanak haiṃ; parantu dīrghkālīn prabhāv kā ākalan abhī śeṣ hai.
The plan’s initial results are encouraging; however, assessment of the long-term impact is still pending. (formal)
Clause boundary: [योजना के प्रारंभिक परिणाम उत्साहजनक हैं] [परंतु दीर्घकालीन प्रभाव का आकलन अभी शेष है]. The semicolon separates two substantial independent clauses; परंतु signals their contrast. A period could also be used, with परंतु beginning the next sentence.
Common Mistakes
❌ मौसम ठंडा था और बच्चे बिना जैकेट खेलते रहे।
Wrong for the intended contrary-to-expectation meaning — और merely adds the second fact.
✅ मौसम ठंडा था, लेकिन बच्चे बिना जैकेट खेलते रहे।
mausam ṭhaṇḍā thā, lekin bacce binā jaikeṭ khelte rahe.
The weather was cold, but the children kept playing without jackets.
❌ परीक्षा गुरुवार को, बल्कि शुक्रवार को होगी।
Incorrect paired correction — बल्कि requires an explicitly negated first alternative.
✅ परीक्षा गुरुवार को नहीं, बल्कि शुक्रवार को होगी।
parīkṣā guruvār ko nahīṃ, balki śukravār ko hogī.
The exam will be not on Thursday but on Friday.
❌ बारिश बावजूद हम निकले।
Incorrect — बावजूद requires a genitive-marked complement.
✅ बारिश के बावजूद हम बाहर निकले।
bāriś ke bāvajūd ham bāhar nikle.
Despite the rain, we went outside.
❌ हालाँकि दादी थकी हुई थीं, वह खाना बनाती हैं।
Wrong for the intended completed past event — the matrix clause needs its own past perfective form; English tense cannot be copied mechanically.
✅ हालाँकि दादी थकी हुई थीं, फिर भी उन्होंने खाना बनाया।
hālā̃ki dādī thakī huī thīṃ, phir bhī unhoṃne khānā banāyā.
Although Grandmother was tired, she still cooked the meal. (honorific)
Key Takeaways
Adversative connectors mark contrast between propositions but do not determine their tense or resolve their subjects. लेकिन is neutral; मगर and पर are common in conversation; किंतु and परंतु are formal. Use नहीं … बल्कि … for correction and हालाँकि … फिर भी … or के बावजूद when one proposition is grammatically packaged as a concession.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- लेकिन मगर परंतु contrastA2 — Choose conversational लेकिन or मगर and formal परंतु to connect clauses whose second statement reverses an expectation created by the first.
- Coordinated clausesA2 — Join independent Hindi clauses with और or formal तथा while tracking shared subjects, separate agreement, event order, and punctuation.
- Concessive clauses with हालाँकिB1 — Use हालाँकि to frame a fact that raises an expectation which the main clause overrides, often resumed by फिर भी.
- हालाँकि यद्यपि and फिर भी concessionB1 — Frame an acknowledged obstacle with neutral हालाँकि or formal यद्यपि, and mark the unexpected outcome with फिर भी or तथापि.
- जबकि simultaneous and contrastive जबकिB1 — Use जबकि to relate simultaneous situations or set two propositions in deliberate contrast, with natural word order, punctuation, and register.
- Contrastive topics with तोB1 — Use post-topic तो to set one person, time, place, or proposition against relevant alternatives without confusing it with conditional तो.